Jointly reported by:
Victoria Hwang Jr3S(3)
Soon Yu Xuan Sr3ScB
On the 16th of May 2023, the long awaited finals for the Chinese speaking competition had finally arrived. The competition was held in the Kuen Cheng High School Auditorium, and had a large audience supporting each of the contestants. Both competitions for Junior and Senior students were held during recess.
The first recess was the time for Junior students to shine in their speaking competition. Before the contestants presented their speech, a short introduction was given to all the attendees. It started off by introducing the honorable judges, namely Madam Tiong Ee Pei, Madam Ong Lay Fong, and Mr. Lim Yu See. Besides that, it was informed that the contestants were to be given points based on their voice, intonation, contents of speech and modality.
Our first contestant for the junior side was Chea Yong Ming from Jr1M(3). His speech entailed on how he and his family got through the tough covid pandemic, and the heartbreak and worry he felt when his father was diagnosed with Covid. Next, a wonderful speech was given by Ng Wei Kuan from Jr1Z(4), where he was able to perfectly describe the feelings of a new hope when a vaccine was finally created to cure Covid-19. Lai Yu Qian from Jr2Z(4) was the next contestant to share their speech with the audience. She thanked her mother for assuring her on the journey of becoming a prefect. Not only that, her mother also shared some wise words to boost her confidence and lessen her doubt towards herself.
Afterwards, Low Tze Xian from Jr1Z(1) began his speech by expressing gratitude towards his mother for taking care of him when he got a high fever. His speech was truly heartwarming and wholesome for both the audience and the judges. Last but not least, Loong Bao Xin from Jr3Z(5) was the last contestant to speak for the day. Her speech consisted of talking about her dreams, where she wants to chase her passion and become a journalist. Her speech was strongly motivational to all of those who also wish to find their own dream job.
Once all the contestants had given their speech, the judges took a few minutes to select the winners. In first place was Low Tze Xian from Jr1Z(1), second place was Lai Yu Qian from Jr2Z(4), and third place was awarded to Ng Wei Kuan from Jr1Z(4). As for the Excellence Awards, both were handed to Chea Yong Ming from Jr1M(3) and Loong Bao Xin from Jr3Z(5). We express our congratulations to all of the winners. A picture was taken to commemorate the event.
Junior Section Winners
In the senior section, Ms Lim Jia Shin, Ms Yang Yoke Pei and Mr Goh Meng Soon were the judges, with the same judging criteria as in the junior section.
Carmen Ngo from Sr3ScA delivered her speech with incredible articulation. The title of her speech was “Against the Wind, more suitable for Flying”, and she talked about how Beethoven didn’t give up even though he met with a lot of difficulties in life, concluding that life is not comparable.
Next up, came Kwan Kai Lerk from Sr2ComA, then Lai Qian Yi from Sr2ScC, who both had the same speech title, “live to become the version of yourself that you like”. Kai Lerk spoke about the LGBTQ community, even if they got hate for living their life, they are still being the versions of themselves that they like. Qian Yi quoted Mandela and said that it is better to do what we love than to envy others, as life is short.
Finally, the last two contestants were Hii Shan Wei from Sr2ScC, and Ngo Kar Min from Sr1ScA, both spoke about the same topic, which was “Against the Wind, more suitable for Flying”. Shan Wei stated that trial and tribulation is not a hindrance, but a kind of wealth and that we should not be afraid to take the first step no matter what. On the other hand, Kar Min declared that we should turn adversity into prosperity in order to become stronger.
Mr Goh Meng Soon gave out comments on the contestants’ performance, and then came the award ceremony. Lai Qian Yi and Hii Shan Wei got the Excellence Award, and Kwan Kai Lerk got third place. Ngo Kar Min and Carmen Ngo placed second and first respectively.
In the end, a group photo was taken and that marked the end of the Chinese speech competition finals of the Senior section. Congratulations to all the contestants and kudos to them for the amazing performance!
Senior Section Winners – Carmen Ngo, Ngo Kar Min, Lai Qian Yi, Hii Shan Wei, Kwan Kai Lerk